10 of the Best Food Festivals
Love a good day out? Love food? Try one of the UK’s finest outdoor edible events, as sampled by Stephanie Dobrijevic
Meatopia London
Put simply, this is any meat lover’s
paradise. The three-day celebration
of all things carnivorous fills London’s
Tobacco Dock with the unmistakable
aroma of charred meat, with stands
churning out prime cuts grilled,
smoked and seared every which
way. Expect top-drawer goat shoulder
from Sam Bryant, head chef at
Coal Rooms and authentic Middle
Eastern shawarma by Josh Katz
of Berber & Q. A rotating roster of
25 chefs operate across the event,
creating unique recipes for the
festival. We’ll be in line for pulled pork
from Smoke BBQ, sticky ribs from
Low ‘N’ Slow and a burger from
Patty & Bun. Pair these with a trip
to Craftopia – a zone dedicated
to quality beer. Meet ‘beermelier’
Melissa Cole and learn how to pair
ale with barbecue food. Pay using the
festival’s currency, Meatbucks (but
remember these can’t be exchanged
back at the end of the day). Head
along Friday for the over-18s ‘late
shift’.
Travel Details
31 August - 2 September 2018
Entry from £24
Abergavenny Food Festival Abergavenny, Wales
Celebrating its 19th anniversary, the
quaint market town of Abergavenny
hosts the biggest food event in
Wales, attracting some 30,000
visitors each year. Set against the
picturesque Black Mountains, it has
become a hotbed of creativity for
home cooks looking for inspiration.
Try a masterclass with Spanish
maestro José Pizarro, whose stage
demonstrations are full of anecdotes
from his youth in Extremadura, best enjoyed over a glass of local
Herefordshire cider. Scoot over to
the newly opened cookery school
in the castle where Skye McAlpine
will be making recipes from her
new cookbook, A Table in Venice.
As the sun goes down, the castle
hosts nightly parties. Listen to Cuban
salsa band Son Yambu and enjoy
tapas from Belazu, inspired by
Mediterranean ingredients. When
you’re done, head outside to watch
the fireworks display – a perfect way
to end a food-filled day.
Travel Details
15-16 September 2018
Entry from £7
Dartmouth Food Festival Dartmouth
Having started from humble
beginnings in 2002, this festival has
grown in scale year-on-year and in
2018 Food and Travel is delighted
to be national media partner, so pop
by our stand and say ‘hello’. Taste
the South West’s finest at an event
overflowing with artisan produce
and celebrity chefs. Start your day
at the South Embankment, before
crossing through the heart of the
Royal Avenue Gardens and finishing
in the old market, via 120 exhibitors,
75 per cent of which are local. Take
your pick from all things epicurean,
such as Sharpham Wine & Cheese,
Salcombe Gin and plenty of quality
fish and meat. Mitch Tonks, one of
the UK’s most respected seafood
chefs, returns to the stage, joined
by Food and Travel writer Rosemary
Barron and chef Mark Hix for cooking
demos. Don’t miss the Eat Your
Words forum, to discuss the ins and
outs of the culinary world with some
of the top names in the business.
Travel Details
19-21 October 2018
Free entry
Edinburgh Food Festival Edinburgh
In the heart of Edinburgh sits the
idyllic George Square gardens,
which form the perfect backdrop
to this five-day event. In July, the
area transforms into a utopia of edible
acts and is a culinary extension of
the world-famous Fringe Festival.
Spend the day with family and friends visiting pop-up restaurants
and bars that represent Scotland’s
incredible natural larder. Soak up
the cheery atmosphere over Poco
Prosecco as you select what to
eat. Stalls to keep an eye out for
include Alanda’s Scottish Seafood
for local langoustines and The Crema
Caravan, for its decadent crème
brûlée. Inside the Piccolo Tent chefs
will be demonstrating some of their
favourite dishes, while producers will provide insight into Scotland’s
food and drink heritage. Try savoury
ice cream from Jannettas Gelateria,
vintage beer at Fyne Ales and take
part in the annual chilli-eating contest.
Scoville scale aficionados only need
apply.
Travel Details
25-29 July 2018
Free entry
Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival Weymouth
Weymouth’s pretty 17th-century
harbour is the perfect spot to host
one of the UK’s most luxurious
epicurean events. For a true taste of
Dorset’s fishing heritage, take a bite
from your choice of 90 seafood stalls
before chowing down on our pick:
crab cakes from Dorset Shellfish. As Britain’s largest free seafood
festival, it’s a charitable event that
raises money for the Fishermen’s
Mission, supporting fishermen and
their families across the country.
Learn the philosophy behind sea-
to-plate cuisine and the story of the
Fishermen’s Mission before watching
Neil Rankin – the legendary barbecue
pitmaster at the helm of London’s
Temper restaurants – experiment with
bold, chilli-laced flavours. End the
day watching boats sail by as the
sun sets. A festival essential is to
slurp oysters washed down with a
glass of fizz, courtesy of the event’s
sponsor, Champagne Pommery.
Travel Details
14-15 July 2018
Free entry
The Big Feastival Chipping Norton
Founded by Jamie Oliver and former
Blur bassist turned-cheesemaker
Alex James in 2010, this three-day
soirée takes place on James’s farm in
the heart of the Cotswolds. A stellar
line-up of chefs including Marco
Pierre White, Nathan Outlaw and
Raymond Blanc is complemented by contemporary music acts Craig
David and Clean Bandit, who play
slots throughout the day. Street-food
stalls burst with delicious smells and
aromatic flavours, but if you’re a fan
of fromage, a visit to The Cheese
Bar is a must. Try its justly famous
grilled cheese sandwich packed with
Cropwell Bishop Stilton, bacon and
pear chutney – it’s an absolute belter.
Want to make a weekend of it? Then
head to the glamping village and hire
out a boutique yurt or bell tent. With
a private cocktail bar, pamper parlour
and kids’ cinema tent, it’s a luxury
experience that we are happy to
pitch up to.
Travel Details
24-26 August 2018
Entry from £69
Powderham Food Festival Powderham
Housed in the grounds of spectacular
Powderham Castle, near Exeter, this
enchanting estate invites visitors to
meander through the countryside
while being introduced to fine
Devonshire food and drink. Brimming
with all things edible, you’ll savour
street food, discover artisan produce
and learn tips from the pros. Hosted
by barbecue legends Simon Dyer,
Marcus Bawdon and John Gower,
the perennially popular Theatre of Fire and Smoke will be returning
for another year with tips, hints and
tricks for cooking over coals. Freshly
caught fish from the local Exe Estuary
and venison from Powderham’s
ancient Deer Park – first depicted on
a map in 1723 – is smoked in big
brown tepees for the event’s show-
stopping finale. Food and Travel has
also got a stand here, so be sure
to stop by and see us. There might
even be a glass of bubbly in it for you
if you’re a subscriber, too.
Travel Details
6-7 October 2018
Entry from £9
The Garlic Festival Sandown
Set among the rolling hills and
farmland just outside of Newchurch
on the Isle of Wight, this festival
celebrates all things allium. Marquees
are dotted around the venue
championing all manner of unlikely
pairings: garlic with fudge, garlic ice
cream and garlic popcorn, to name
but a few. Plenty of beer tents are
on hand to assist in washing them
down. Some of the more unusual
products we particularly rate include
a surprisingly slurpable garlic slammer
– a raw garlic clove wrapped in
prosciutto and washed down with
a shot of IW Distillery Rock Sea
Vodka. New for this year is the
theatre kitchen, where the island’s
finest chefs will be showcasing dishes
from their restaurants and teaching
you how to recreate them at home.
Television chef Valentine Warner will
be returning to the stage to create
garlic-imbued recipes, which he
will be cooking over charcoal fire-pits.
Travel Details
18-19 August 2018
Entry from £10
Food Rocks Lyme Regis
Launched six years ago by legendary
British chef Mark Hix, this festival
is a celebration of his West Dorset
hometown and the rich array of
produce available here. In order to
show off some of his top suppliers,
Hix created an event where locals
can support their farmers and those
in the food industry. Watch demos
from Lympstone Manor’s Michael
Caines and bread master Richard
Bertinet from The Bertinet Kitchen,
before trying Persian wraps from
Open Sesame and organic cheese
from De Luca Mozzarella. Enjoy a
glass of Dorset Orchards cider or a gin and tonic from Dorset’s first
gin distiller, Conker. In the evening,
book a seat at the new Glenarm
Estate Beef Supper Club, where Hix
will be celebrating the estate’s meat
over a five-course feast. All profits
raised on the night and at the event
will be donated to the RNLI and the
Fishermen’s Mission.
Travel Details
8-9 September 2018
Free entry
Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival Aldeburgh
Paying homage to Suffolk’s flourishing
food scene, Aldeburgh is now one
of the most hotly anticipated food
events in the UK. Reed-covered
marshlands in the distance provide
the setting beside the River Alde,
where over 100 producers gather at
the beautiful setting of Snape Maltings
to showcase the very best of East
Anglia. Suffolk’s lush countryside has
all the ingredients for a home-grown
feast and the main focus of the show is to celebrate the abundance
and variety of crops and livestock
available. Henrietta Inman’s tempting
pop-up patisserie and beef from
Salter & King are two of our top picks
for roving eaters. Visit the Wild Suffolk
area to try foraged food, including
some superbly gamey pigeon
burgers. After the festival, two weeks
of Fringe events follow, which include
farm walks, exclusive dinners at local
restaurants and meet and greets with
Suffolk producers.
Travel Details
29-30 September 2018
Entry from £8
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